5 herbs easy to grow at home
I love to grow herbs indoors. I usually rotate between small herb garden and tomato easy grow garden, that, by the way was one the best presents I ever received. Here is the list of 5 herbs you can easily grow indoors. I never used any fertilizers, just water, sunlight and love:)
Do I need individual pots?
You do not need individual pots. All plans below can be planted in the same container, just make sure to plant them 4- 6 inches Apart. I prefer to have individual pot but only for esthetic reason. It is much easier to replace the individual pots and way less messy
Can I grow herbs from seeds?
Yes, absolutely. I have done it couple of times in the past. It is a lot of fun, but at the same time it is a lo of work and requires patience. So, eventually I switch to buying the plants from local organic nursery (or dollar store :)).
Basil
There are plenty of basil varieties. I counted 7 in our local Anderson nursery. The easier and the most common to grow is sweet basil.
The only thing basil needs is water. You can put it at the window, water it really good once a day and yog will always have fresh basil ready for cooking. I bought my last basil plant from local grocery store, used all the greens for cooking, cut it down completely and a week later it came back up growing healthy new greens while still sitting in its original tiny pot. I strongly suggest to replant basil though. Use organic vegetable soil for better results.
Sunlight: 4-6 hours indirect sunlight
Growing temperature : 65-80F (it will do ok in higher temperatures too)
Water: Water thotothly at least once a day. The soul should or dry out completely between watering, so you might need to monitor the plant couple of days after planting and adjust watering if needed. I water mine reuse a day sometimes when it hot.
Potential problems and how to fix them:
Curling leaves- this usually caused by not enough sunligh. You can relocate the plant or even put it outside for couple of hours a day if weather permits. This does not affect the flavor at all, just the look. So, you don’t have to do anything of the appearance of the plant doesn’t bother you.
Yellow/ brownish leaves can be caused by under watering. So, note how much water you are using daily and increase by little if the problem continues. Soul should not dry out completely between watering ..
How to harvest: If using for cooking just just cut the top several inches of the plant.
Mint
Similar to basil mint can grow easily indoors . As long as there is sun and water mint is happy. I was also able to cut the plant completely twice once we used all the greens. The greens grow back in in couple of weeks strong and fresh.
Water : Once a day
How to harvest: The best way to harvest mint is to cut individual leaves, couple of inches from the top. This allows the plant to bring more offspring.
Use: You can use mint virtually everywhere: salads, soup, deserts. You can even add a leave or two to your coffee . Classic Turkish coffee recipe have one leave of mint in it.
Potential problem and how to fix them:
Dry leaves: As always, dry leaves can be caused by too little or too much water, So the easiest way to fix it is to lower the amount of water for a day or two. If the problem persists, you need to increase the water and watch the plant closely. You should be able to see the results in couple of days.
Stretchy branches and small leaves: This Caused by not enough sun light or too much fertilizer. Relocate the plant or adjust(or stop ) fertilizers accordingly.
Parsley
I am a big proponent of growing organic herbs at home. What’s a point of grow non- organic anyways? With parsley,bying organic plant or seeds is very important. Organic parsley tastes and feels different, the leaves are much more dense and flavor is vey strong. Homegrown organic parsley remind me of Ukrainian parsley from farmers market.
How to harvest: Cut branches completely close up the root
How to use: Parsley can be used in soups and salads. I love adding parsley to meat stews and stir fry vegetables. My favorite dish that has parsley as an ingredient is tabouli. Make sure to use the entire stems, not only leaves. I often see my mom throwing all the stems. Yes, they are a bit chewy, but when chopped finely they can be added to any dish. Do not waste the stems. If for nothing else, you can freeze them and add to vegetable broth later.
Oregano
Oregano is easiest plant to grow.
Water: unlike basil and mint, oregano will benefit from partially drying between watering. Water once a day. Also unlike basil, oregano will easily handle a little neglect and will survive for couple of day without water.
Sun: 4-6 hours of direct sunlight.
How to harvest: You can cut stems. leaves or part of the stems, it will regrow back super fast. Unlike parsely, only oregano leaves can be used for cooking.
Thyme
Thyme is a totally new nd very planned addition to my indoor herb garden. This our four fig trees produce so many figs that we cannot consume them even with all neighbors’ help. So, after making fig tart several times I decided to try something new this year and make fig jam. So , I had to buy some thyme for the jam. I decided to to get live thyme from the grocery store. I brought it home and planted it. Two months later the plant doing great.
Water: Once a day, moderate
Sun: 4-6 hours direct sunlight
Why cilantro and rosemary not in the list?
That’s the question I got from my neihdour. Well,I was never successful growing cilantro and rosemary inside the house. Cilantro need a deep pot due to its long roots. It also needs about 6-8 hours of indirect sunlight.
